The Convergence of Past and Future
by NightElfCrawler
Summary: Trip down Memory Lane. An archived story I'm bringing back. Another Xelloss' past AU.
1. Chapter 1

**The Convergence of Past and Future**

**Chapter 1: BANG! A New Dilemma**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Mild language, violence  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

* * *

><p>"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh sugoiiiiiiiiiiiiii..."<p>

As usual, the birds were chirping loudly, the wind was blowing through the trees pleasantly, the sun was shining brightly, and Lina was eating rapidly.

The group was heading down the path in the road, carelessly in the bright light, heading back towards Saiirag to visit their old friend Sylphiel. They always met up randomly, and this day was no exception. By some coincidence, they had bumped into each other, literally, while coming from different forks in a road, each being pursued by different groups of people, who upon seeing each other had taken up fighting themselves, and thankfully left them alone to continue down the road peacefully.

Zelgadis seemed less than pleased to have met up with Lina and Gourry,  
>accompanied by Amelia who had popped up during their stop in a local town. She was out 'exploring and pursuing the truth of justice' or so she said.<p>

"MMpgh mmm aunmmm rgmmmm." Lina mumbled, enwrapped in her chicken leg as they walked. "Mnenne mwrrep gmmmmmm."

"Huh?" Zel said as he stared at her. "What is she saying?"

"She said 'weird that we all should show up together like this'" Gourry translated, having been used to the 'mouth full of food' speech for some time.

Zel nodded, not being surprised for some reason, and sighed as they continued walking, thoughts such as /Why me / and /Please let me escape from them / running through his stony head.

Amelia was skipping ahead merrily and rounded the corner of the road and vanished into the trees ahead of them. They didn't pay it any heed,  
>since there was little danger, and hell, they all could more than take care of themselves in non-threatening woods like these.<p>

Of course, they were startled immediately into running forward when they heard a bloodcurdling scream from ahead. They all burst around the path to run directly into Amelia who was bawling and screaming almost hysterically in tears. "Ahhh Miss Linaa..." She buried her face in Lina's chest, sobbing heavily and shaking in the startled sorceress'  
>arms. "it's horrible... horrible..."<p>

Lina put a comforting hand on Amelia's head, hugging her lightly,  
>glancing ahead curiously to see what may have upset her so much.<br>"Daijoubu Amelia, dajoubu..."she said comfortingly, glancing sideways at Zel. He nodded and headed forward into the clearing. "What is it? What's up there?"

Amelia was shaking in fright. "It's horrible... Horrible miss Lina..."

From up ahead, Zel's voice floated to them. "Lina... You'd better come see this..."

Lina glanced at Gourry who was scratching his head and looking clueless as always, and they walked forward into a small clearing. They were nearly blown away by the sight of what lay before them. A gigantic crater was before them, looking like a hand had scooped out the earth and all the trees around it, but the fact was everything inside the crater, and the surrounding trees were blackened to a crisp. Wisps of smoke still hung in the area, and a huge magic residue reeked from the crater. Zel was standing at the rim examining the soil, looking confused and worried. "What do you make of this Lina?" he asked quietly not glancing back.

Lina crouched beside him, staring at the ground with a puzzled look. "I have no idea... it's far too big for a Dragon Slave... but I don't know anything that can create such a gigantic explosion like this..."  
>She looked up, then her breath caught. "Oh my..."<p>

Everyone followed her gaze to where she was looking, and saw something that vaguely resembled a person lying in the center of the crater. The figure was barely discernible due to the fact that it was blackened to a crisp and curled up on the ground far below them. "Miss Lina..." Amelia murmured. "We have to help them..."

Lina nodded and stood up. "RAY WING!" And leapt down speeding towards the bottom of the crater. The others followed in their own various ways,  
>Amelia and Zel flying down, Gourry standing there lost, then shrugging and sliding down the dirt side and managing to tumble head over heels repeatedly till he landed at the bottom in an undignified dizzy pile.<p>

Lina knelt by the crispy person, a slight frown on her face. Amelia also joined her, turning the person over and nearly gasping in shock at the extent of his injuries. They couldn't tell if it was a man or woman, but most of his center midsection of his body was missing, a huge hole there instead. Half of his right side was gone, a leg and an arm lying to the side of the bottom of the crater, and a huge gash on the head showed the brutality of the attack. However, there was one thing that made Lina pull up short... the person's blood wasn't red... it was a shimmery purple...

Amelia looked up with a worried glance, and Lina nodded to her unspoken question. "Yes... A Mazoku..."

"Lina..." Came a soft voice from the side. She turned her head and saw Zel heading towards them with a broken piece of wood in his hands. On the end of one of the pieces... A huge ruby stone...

Gourry scratched his head. "Did someone's barbeque get out of control?"

There was a long pause of complete silence, save for the extraneous chirping of crickets and the occasional gust of wind blowing some leaves around.

"Yes Gourry..." Lina said with sarcasm dripping in her voice. "Sure that's what happened..." Zel and Amelia merely sweatdropped.

Zel stood up and threw the pieces of the staff to the ground. "Well,  
>let's go." He began to head back up the edge of the crater.<p>

"CHOTTO!" Lina bellowed. "What do you mean 'let's go'?" She stood up sharply. "We can't just leave him here like this?"

Zel glanced back irritated. "What else? Why would I have any interest in helping him? Let him stay there, serves the bastard right."

Amelia looked up with shimmery eyes. "Mr. Zelgadis... he may be a villain, but it's not just to leave a helpless wounded person in the middle of the woods to die!" She stood up and shimmery stars and fireworks surrounded her. "After all, we must search for the truth in who has committed this near murder! In the pursuit of justice and truth,  
>we..." She sweatdropped heavily at the sight of Zel disappearing over the edge of the crater, not having been paying any attention. "Mr.<br>Zelgadis..." She whined, with teary eyes, "How can you be so cold?"

Gourry was looking back and forth between a fiery headed Lina who was glaring angrily at the rapidly disappearing Zel, and to the still motionless crisped figure on the ground. "Um... Did I miss something here?"

Lina looked like she wanted to do many different things, but instead turned back to the figure and knelt down. "Amelia, can you heal him?"

Amelia looked down at what was left of him and frowned. "Aren't Mazoku supposed to be able to regenerate?"

Lina nodded, and touched some of the purple goo oozing from his side and rubbed it between her fingers worriedly. "Yes, they're supposed to, but I think he's so badly wounded that that's become impossible for him."

Amelia looked down uncomfortably. "He's that badly hurt..." She bit her lip. "I think I can... I've never healed a Mazoku before..." She looked up almost with a lost look at Lina.

Lina smiled and gripped her hand tightly in her own. "I'll lend you some of my life force if you need it Amelia." She glanced down at him, the only think distinguishing him was the silver and ruby crest pin on his chest where what would have been his cloak had been. "We owe it to him... He may be our enemy, but he has saved us and helped us out from time to time even if it was for his own reasons or under orders... We can't just let him die."

Amelia nodded in agreement, and positioned her hands over his' chest,  
>and Lina gripped Amelia's hand to channel her life force into the girl.<br>Amelia began her healing spell, and a white glow surrounded his body. It took some watching to see if it was actually working. Lina could sense some initial resistance, and realized that even at this critical point between life and death, he was resisting foreign magic... Still on his guard even if it meant his life. She willed her words to him, hoping that she might reach him, /Come on, we're trying to help you, let us do that... let us in... / After several more strained seconds of meeting a resistance, Lina felt it dissolve and their strength flow into his essence, into his body and begin it's healing work. At first, it seemed nothing was changing, but then slowly they saw the gaping hole begin to close, and Lina realized that they might help out a bit more. "Gourry!"  
>She called out. The swordsman approached, and she looked up at him. "Go get his arm and leg over there." She pointed. He nodded and immediately complied, bringing the parts back and placing them where they should go.<br>After a slow time, Lina saw them begin to merge, and the limbs became attached once again.

Amelia was beginning to look strained, and Lina could feel her own strength being drained as the healing continued. Finally, Amelia dropped her hands in her lap and slumped forward. "I... Can't give him any more... right now..." She gasped as her hands shook.

Lina put a restraining hand on her shoulder. "I understand Amelia, you did your best..." She glanced down at him. He wasn't in pieces, and most of the critical wounds were healing, and she could see a slow regeneration beginning on the remaining ones, though his body was still burned badly. She figured he would have enough strength now to slowly heal himself. "Gourry!" She called out, and he knelt next to her. "Can you carry him, gently."

"Uh huh." He said and took the offered blanket by Lina, and wrapped him gently in it, then scooped him into his arms and stood up. Lina grabbed the broken staff, and then supported Amelia. "Well, let's find a town where we can stay for some time."

And with that they headed in the direction they had been heading in, not seeing Zel anywhere around, so continuing without him. As they walked,  
>Amelia looked up at Lina with wide eyes. "How do you suppose Mr. Xelloss got so badly injured Miss Lina?"<p>

Lina shook her head. The marks on his body beneath the burns seemed to be deep gashes of some defensive pattern, like he'd been ambushed by surprise and not able to defend himself well. Then there was the enormous explosion of magic that had caused the crater... had that been Xelloss? Or his opponent? Given how badly burned the Mazoku was,  
>she assumed it must have been his opponent who had detonated the blast.<br>And from the relative composition of the dirt, it had been several hours ago. So whoever they might be looking for, was long gone by this time.  
>"We'll just have to ask him when he wakes up." She said in way of explanation."<p>

After considerable travel, they finally reached the town they'd been heading for, and checked into an inn. Amelia immediately crashed in her bed and fell fast asleep, exhausted from her exertion of so much healing power. Gourry flopped down and began polishing his sword, and Lina sat in a chair beside Xelloss' bed and watched him with a frown on her face.  
>How could he have gotten into such a bad position? She knew he was very powerful, but had never seen the full extent of his power, only heard rumors and descriptions of what he could do. She knew he was a high level monster, but how high? Who did he serve now that Hellmaster was gone? She sighed in frustration and watched his labored breathing,<br>feeling sorry for him for some reason. She had no reason to like him,  
>but then, he wasn't an entirely bad person, despite the fact that he was Mazoku, he was just meddling and mischievous. She would rather work with him than someone like Hellmaster or Gaav.<p>

She had almost drifted off into a light sleep, when she heard a slight whimper from the bed. She glanced over to see Xelloss' head moving slightly, and a low groan emanating from him. She reached out and touched his hand, and was shocked by an enormous surge in power. It was like being shocked by electricity. She pulled back like she'd been bitten, her eyes narrowing with distrust over the trickster. But the soft moaning turned into intelligible words. "No... leave her alone... please..." and "Kirin...save yourself..." This voice wasn't the cruel low mellow voice of the trickster she knew, it was pleading, desperate, and frightened. Lina stared at him with some bemusement, wondering what he was talking about, what he meant, and what was happening. Finally, after seeing him shuddering and twitching as if in pain, she reached out with a simple spell, to view what he was seeing. She had no idea if spells like this would work on a Mazoku, but now was the time to try it out.

The instant her hand touched his forehead, she found herself being surrounded with flashing pictures, images, screams, and voices from millions of people, creatures, and other such things. It was like being in an insane madhouse, everything flooded her at once, pressed at her,  
>invaded her. She gasped and closed her eyes, reminding herself she could break the spell if it got too intense. But she was determined to find out what the trickster was thinking, and carefully began sorting through his mind, searching.<p>

Everything came to a halt, then exploded.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Convergence of Past and Future**

**Chapter 2: HUH? Xelloss' Past?**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Mild language, violence  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

* * *

><p>She found herself lying on the ground, in the middle of a city upon regaining her awareness. She sat up slowly, staring around her in bafflement. Where was she? Was she still in Xelloss' mind? She slowly stood, and took a look around. She appeared to be in some town of a sort, rural and quiet. There were some children running happily about laughing, and the occasional neighbor chatting with a friend.<p>

She stepped out into the main square, and turned about, frowning. The style of the buildings... the clothing... Everything was so out of date and ancient, like she'd never seen before. Her outfit seemed to stand out strongly in the village of plainly dressed people. However, no one paid her the least bit of attention.

Her attention was drawn by the sudden calling of a voice. "Oi! Wait up An'u!" She turned about to see a young boy, about 10 or so, dashing down the street to catch a taller but skinnier boy by the arm. As the taller boy turned, she immediately recognized him. He was much younger than she knew him as, but it was no doubt the same person whom she was looking at... Xelloss... The purple hair, though it fell long down his back in a ponytail, the sharp high features and narrow bones, and the secret smile on his face. Though she noticed almost immediately that his eyes were a brilliant emerald green color, not the amethyst purple she was so familiar with.

Realization dawned to her slowly. "Xelloss was human once..." She stared at the two boys as they talked, trying to sort out things in her mind. "Human... but how did he become Mazoku then?" She walked towards them, hoping to get some answers to her questions.

"So so so? Any news?" They kid was asking in an excited voice. "Come on!  
>Come on An'u! Tell me!"<p>

The teen who looked like Xelloss laughed merrily, a lighthearted friendly laugh. "My my my aren't we curious!" He leaned forward and tapped the boy's nose. "You want to know?"

"Yes! Yes!"

"You reaaaaaally want to know?"

"Yes! I do I do!"

"All right then..." He leaned forward to the boy's ear and smiled.  
>"The truth is... Sore wa himitsu desu!"<p>

Lina smiled in spite of herself, having figured that's what he would say. The boy however looked crestfallen. "No fair! Come on! Stop playing games An'u! Tell me!" he whined, looking hurt.

An'u laughed again and tweaked the boy's nose. "Come on Marik... If I told you then the surprise would be spoiled now wouldn't it!" he started walking and Marik jogged beside him, Lina trailing them both to listen in on the conversation.

"But you ALWAYS keep that stuff from me." Marik whined. "I want to know!  
>Please please please?"<p>

An'u laughed again and wrapped his arm around the boy in a headlock. "I said... Sore wa himitsu desu!"

Lina had to keep herself from laughing as Marik struggled in An'u's grasp. "Come ooooonnn..." He whined. "NO fair..."

An'u let him go with a smirking grin. "Give up yet?"

Marik sighed and looked discouraged. "You're no fun... Why won't you tell me?"

An'u shrugged as they passed by the marketplace crowded with people shopping for their food and daily items. "Because, then it wouldn't stay a secret. You know how much you blab about things to others. This is a surprise party, and it's staying that way."

Marik sighed. "Honestly, you're so difficult!"

"Yep, that's me, stubborn as a mule." An'u said cheerfully.

Lina was bemused by this. He was totally different from the Xelloss she knew... he was cheerful, happy, and friendly. He joked and had that certain flair of his that she recognized, but he wasn't the same...  
>he was nicer...<p>

She followed the two as they strode through the city, having discovered by now that she was invisible to the others, since this was a flashback on the past and she had not been there, so couldn't influence anything.  
>However, the question that danced about in her mind was how this person could transform into the maniacal trickster... She'd never thought about what his past might have been like, other than destroying a huge army of dragons with one finger. She had assumed that Xelloss had been born a monster just like the rest of them, never had she suspected that he might have been anything else...<p>

Finally, the two boys and their unseen follower were at the edge of the town, and they stopped over a bridge by the river border. "So... I'm supposed to be in costume tonight?" Marik asked looking up with wide blue eyes. "Any costume?"

"That's right. The party's at the meeting hall in the coliseum. Don't be late now." An'u winked at Marik with a smile. "Believe me, it'll be fun!" He hugged the boy playfully.

"You still won't tell me who's party it is?" he whined looking up with upset eyes. "Come on, everyone is DYING to know!"

An'u merely winked. "See you tonight!" And he turned and strode over the bridge following the path while Marik stood at the edge of the town watching his form disappear.

Lina smiled and shook her head, then followed An'u down the path,  
>jogging to keep up with him. When she'd pulled up next to him, she took the time to look at the young Xelloss. He actually looked just as old as he did now, only his hair was longer and his eyes were a bright emerald green that mirrored the grass landscape around them. His face was open and friendly, not sly and conniving. He didn't look anything like the trickster she knew, and she found herself wondering more and more about Xelloss... who was he really? This simple boy? It hardly seemed possible.<p>

After walking about a mile's distance, and Lina's stomach complaining loudly the whole way to deaf ears, they reached a house in the hillsides that looked quite rich and well taken care of. An'u headed up the path to the house, and entered it, immediately bounding up some stairs off of the entryway, passing by a middle aged woman who looked like him. "Oi,  
>take it easy I just waxed the floors!" She scolded shaking a finger at his disappearing figure.<p>

"Sorry!" Came the shouted reply as he dashed around the corner.

Lina watched the woman shake her head in amusement. "Young boys... So full of energy." And with that the woman headed back into the house.

Lina climbed up the stairs and wandered around until she found An'u throwing clothes out of a trunk on the floor onto a bed hurriedly. She sat down on the bed and relaxed as he dug through the trunk,  
>occasionally muttering curses under his breath. Finally, he pulled out a folded bundle of black fabric, and unfolded it to reveal the all too familiar cloak that Xelloss always wore. Lina stared at him with suspicion, but saw his green eyes examining the fabric closely. "Damn moths... " He mumbled fingering a hole in the cloak, then tossing it on the bed and digging through some more clothing. Finally, he had laid his entire ensemble out, and it was not surprising for Lina to discover that it was Xelloss' wardrobe that lay on the bed. An'u then proceeded to strip as Lina blushed and looked away discreetly, though he had no idea she was there, and dressed in the ensemble. When he'd finished,<br>Lina glanced back to see a younger version of Xelloss admiring himself in the mirror. Against the door frame rested a staff similar to what he usually carried, but it was only a simple wooden one. He had no cloak clasp either, and the whole outfit resembled an older style to it, as if it was some antique.

Then, as Lina watched, An'u took a knife and carefully began to cut his hair short to his chin... Her breath held in her chest as he looked at his finished work, and she shook her head in amazement at how uncanny it was to see him this way.

A voice called from downstairs, and he snatched his staff and left with Lina trailing him.

"An'u... did you remember to deliver the letter I gave you?" the woman was saying. "I just remembered that I forgot to tell you who it was for."

An'u entered the dining room and Lina leaned against the wall looking around as he snatched a bite to eat. "Yes mother, I figured out who it was for." He turned. "You're sure that you can't come help decorate early? We need the help."

The woman paused in her work and smiled at him. "You know I couldn't do that dear. This is your party, and I have a lot of work to do besides. I will be there though on time as promised."

"Will Father be coming?"

"Yes, I believe so. He said he would take off early."

Lina was trying hard to snitch some of the food from the table behind their backs, but having no luck as her hand passed right through it. She cursed and scowled to deaf ears, and then sighed and leaned against the wall listening to them again.

An'u nodded and snatched another roll. "Then I'll be going. Don't be late, k?"

The woman nodded. "Yes dear... Oh, why did you cut your hair?" She asked looking up with a curious look on her face. "I though you liked it long."

He shrugged. "All part of the plan." And with that he exited through the door with Lina on his heels, and started jogging back towards town. She cast a Ray Wing spell to keep up with his fast pace, and took time to look around her whereabouts. It seemed to be in the Northern Province,  
>the mountain region. A small village, but of course it may not exist anymore, she thought knowing Xelloss was over 1000 years old.<p>

They reached the coliseum and entered to find two people standing guard at the entrance. As An'u passed, they both grinned and waved him through. He headed into the main arena, and Lina nearly gasped aloud at seeing the platforms, tables, decorations, and festive artifacts decorating the gigantic arena. She stopped for several minutes just to admire the place, and found herself dizzied by the decorations. It had the appearance of a gigantic masque ball, with illusionists, gypsies,  
>and games set up everywhere overrun by decorations. People were busy setting more things up the whole time, and she followed An'u to the center where some girls were decorating a flower ordained gazebo.<p>

"How's it going?" He asked with a smile to the group. "Need anything?"

"Nope, we've got it all ready An'u-san!" One small child piped up. "All the flowers are staying fresh!"

He nodded. "Wonderful!" He walked into the gazebo and looked around it critically and nodded in agreement. "Great, I can't thank you girls enough for all the help you've donated here!"

They giggled and nodded with blush rising on their cheeks. "Hai An'u-san, you know you can always come to us!"

He smiled warmly at them, then began his rounds through out the stadium.  
>Lina followed, not really paying attention to the actions, but looking around and taking in the scenery. What was he planning this time? He continued to prepare for the so-called party, and the light began to fade. Torches were put up and lit, and a large bonfire in the center was lit to shed light. Twinkling lights of fire hung around the stadium giving it a mysterious enchanted feel to it. Lina perched on the gazebo railing as An'u talked with various people, waiting to see what was in store. This whole thing was something of a shock to her. She hadn't thought that Xelloss would be anything like this... What would happen to this young man who seemed promising to the world to change him into a Mazoku? It was almost as if someone reversed their personalities...<p>

Then it hit her with a shock... Reversed personalities... it was possible. An'u was caring and considerate to others... Xelloss was impartial and indifferent. An'u was gentle, sweet, and friendly...  
>Xelloss was mischievous, devious, and secretive. An'u showed true emotion, feelings, and essence of life...Xelloss was a Mazoku, who had little use for human weaknesses.<p>

There was still similarities as well. But the differences stood out greater in Lina's mind at this point. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense to her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden shout from the doorway to the coliseum. "It's time! They're at the door!"

There was immediate havoc as people rushed about to take their places,  
>pulled last minute costumes on, and set up the final preparations. An'u pulled a low cloak over his head so that it hid his face, and stood there with his head slightly bowed as if hiding. Everyone seemed to freeze at once, staying motionless and in place, and there was complete silence for some time, then footfalls could be heard. Within a few seconds, more people in costume had entered the coliseum through the doorway, and were looking around baffled with some wonder. An'u took this point to step forward and bowed before the new audience. "Welcome visitors to the first annual celebration fools ball!" He said in a deep almost echoing voice. "We the fairy folk humbly welcome you to this feast, and endow that you shall enjoy yourself with laughter, merriness,<br>and entertainment upon your stay!" He gestured to the whole stadium.  
>"And now, if our entertainers be ready..."<p>

Instantly, acrobats began to fill the center of the arena, and perform some intricate dances, aerobics, and poses. The visitors all filed in and began to mill around the arena. Before ten minutes had passed, Lina was certain that most of the town had to be in attendance this night. It was an enormous amount of people, and the entire place was packed full to the rim. As she mingled, she heard a familiar voice call out.  
>"An'uuuuu!"<p>

She peered to the side to see Marik in a formal robe of a courtier dashing towards An'u. He clung to his robes. "Are you going to tell me now?" he whined in a nasal voice. "Pleeeeaaaaseeee?"

An'u chuckled again and squeezed the boy's shoulder. "No! I told you,  
>sore wa himitsu desu! No telling. You find out with everyone else!"<p>

Lina smiled in spite of herself again, and shook her head. What a mischievous person he was even now...

But as she glanced back, she saw that An'u was headed towards the gazebo in the center of the area, and once he had leapt to the top, he began banging on a gong that had been set up inside of the gazebo. Everyone around began to quiet down immediately, directing their attention towards him. Once it was silent, he swept his hood back and gestured with a wide smile. "Welcome! I'm so glad you could all attend this party, it is a memorable day for all of us, but for me in particular!"  
>His mischievous smile lit his face. "Today is a day I shall remember for the rest of my life." He glanced around the arena. "Where's Marik?"<br>There was an instant 'ooooo!' and Marik was dashing up to the gazebo instantly with an eager look on his face. An'u smiled. "Now you get to learn my secret." He said tweaking the boy's nose. An'u straightened up and glanced around. "Today is the day that I proclaim my heart to a very special lady."

Lina's mouth practically fell open in shock. No WAY! She couldn't help thinking... Xelloss in love? That's... that's... so ... weird,  
>she thought scratching her head. Somehow, she just couldn't picture him that way, not with feelings and definitely not in any romantic attachments. The rest of the audience was less surprised however,<br>everyone was clapping loudly and luminously. People were whistling, and she became aware that an aisle was being made down the groups of people to where someone stood looking shy and uncertain. Lina peered over the heads of the others to try and see who this girl was, when suddenly there was a loud gong from the village. Everyone seemed to freeze at once, and began murmuring and talking in worried voices. "What's going on?" Lina muttered, walking through the people since she had no substance, to joining An'u and Marik who were looking around with worried looks.

As an immediate response to their questioning faces, there was a ruckus from the doorway and two people burst into the coliseum without costumes. "We're under attack by the Monsters!"

Lina glanced to An'u's face to see shock and fear written there, just like the surrounding peoples. But then, something odd happened... a bright light began to flood the sky, then it shot down around her, and she thrashed, only to find herself seated back in her chair beside Xelloss' bed.

She blinked a few times, unsure of what had happened, then realized she'd been booted out of his mind for some reason, and glanced down at his face, which was convulsed in pain and misery...


	3. Chapter 3

**The Convergence of Past and Future**

**Chapter 3: YIKES! Who's This Girl?**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Mild language, violence  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

* * *

><p>She stared at him, unsure of what to do or think. He was obviously having some flashback of a reoccurring dream... and whatever had happened, she wasn't in contact with his mind any more. She sighed and crossed her legs in thought, watching his face go through different expressions that she never thought she would see on the Mazoku's face.<br>Lina frowned slightly, not sure what to think. After Xelloss had vanished following their final battle with Hellmaster, she'd wondered where he'd been. It had been several months since then, and she found herself wondering what he'd been doing, and what the life of a Mazoku might be like. Lina sighed, rubbing her head to rid herself of the headache, and stood up. "I'm going in to town for a bit guys." She said walking towards the door. "I'll be back in a bit."

Gourry looked up from polishing his sword. "Uh, ok. I think I'll stay here and get some rest." He grinned lopsidedly at her, and Lina felt her cheeks redden suddenly in a burst of emotion. She quickly glanced away,  
>trying to keep the burning blush down, when Amelia snatched her arm.<br>"I'll go with you Miss Lina!" She piped eagerly.

Lina sweatdropped slightly and nodded, having wished that she could turn the young princess down... "Right. Let's go then." She exited the inn with Amelia by her side, and they both walked down the crowded market street, gazing at booths and stalls in interest. They spent a good half hour looking around, and the whole time Lina was distracted and slightly aloof. Amelia had asked her constantly if she was feeling all right, and she knew that the princess was worried about her since her mind was back on what she'd seen from Xelloss. She kept insisting that everything was fine, but Amelia didn't seem to be fooled.

They had started heading back towards the inn, when Lina's attention was drawn to a figure walking just ahead of them. Her eyes widened at seeing the familiar purple hair and long black cloak. She burst ahead of Amelia in a sudden rush, and snatched the tall figure by the shoulder and thrust him against the wall with a strong force. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING OUT OF BED?" She barked at him, her eyes narrowed in anger.  
>"Even you shouldn't be out this quick, what the hell are you pulling on us now Xelloss?" She snarled in fury, glaring up into his face with narrowed burning red eyes.<p>

Amelia had quietly come up behind her and was standing there with a fist in front of her mouth, and wide eyes. Curious passer-by's glanced over,  
>but left them alone, since it was a large city and events like this were frequent.<p>

Lina was shaking him hard against the wall when Amelia's voice came tentatively from behind her. "Uh... Miss Lina...?" When it was apparent that Lina was too worked up to hear her, Amelia tugged on Lina's cloak and spoke louder in a more forward voice. "Miss Lina! That's not Mr.  
>Xelloss! It's a woman!"<p>

"I don't give a care if it's not..." Lina froze and blinked in surprise, the words registering a bit late. "What...?" She asked,  
>glancing up at the figure and blinking once or twice, then fastening her eyes on the person's chest.<p>

Sure enough, the person was quite obviously female...

Lina glanced up curiously and noted the woman's features in some surprise. She had the same color hair as Xelloss but it was pulled into a braid falling down to her waist over her shoulder, her face shape was almost a match, but her eyes were a bright golden color rather than amethyst. She was slender and about the same height and wore a black cloak, but her outfit beneath it was a tight pair of black pants with high calf length black boots, and she had a tight bodice that was laced down the front that was a deep crimson velvet trimmed in silver lining.  
>She also wore a loose off-white blouse beneath the bodice, and a deep blue sapphire hung on a sliver chain around her neck.<p>

Lina slowly let go of the woman, and backed up embarrassed. "Erm... I'm sorry about that... I thought you were someone else..." She was internally cursing herself for making such an embarrassing mistake, but at the same time she was staring at the woman's unique resemblance to the Trickster Priest. It was almost uncanny...

The woman brushed her shoulders off, keeping a wary eye on Lina in distrust. "That's all right..." She said in a soft mellow voice, her golden eyes darting back and forth examining them.

Lina bowed in apology. "I'm really sorry... I guess I should actually look to see whom I'm chasing after..." She laughed in a nervous manner,  
>trying to brush off her embarrassment.<p>

The woman just gave her a curious look and shrugged lightly. "Who did you think I was?" She asked glancing at Amelia and smiling lightly,  
>receiving a smile in return.<p>

"Oh, no one, just a... an acquaintance of ours who was just wounded... I thought you were him up and about of bed, and was...  
>disturbed." Lina said with a shrug. "I hope you're not injured."<p>

The woman shook her head. "No, though I might have some nice bruises in the morning." She added wryly. "Well, it was a pleasure to make your acquaintance, however briefly, Miss..." She hesitated glancing at Lina in question.

"Ah, Lina Inverse." Lina said offering a hand in greeting. "And this is Amelia." She said gesturing to the shorter girl beside her.

The woman shook their hands while nodding. "I'm Zallia." She returned.  
>"Lina Inverse? I've heard of you... the mighty sorceress who defeated Hellmaster and the Dark Lord Shabranigudo." Her tone was respectful and interested, her thin eyebrows arching in question.<p>

Lina grinned lopsidedly. "Yeah, I guess I've been around a bit." She shrugged. "It's nice to make your acquaintance Zallia."

The three headed back towards the main street, and Zallia continued along with them.

"So, are you as powerful as the rumors say, Lina-san?" Zallia asked politely.

Lina shrugged. "You betcha!" She grinned from ear to ear practically glowing.

Amelia ran up beside Zallia and grinned. "She's the most powerful sorceress in this world at least!" She said enthusiastically. "Do you work in magic?" She asked curiously looking up at her with wide eyes.

Zallia laughed softly. "Yes, I do." She said with a smile at Amelia.  
>"I'm a fairly skilled magician myself..."<p>

Lina nodded at her, and they rounded the bend of the street and stopped in front of the inn.. "Well, it was nice meeting you, no hard feelings..." She smiled and shook Zallia's hand again. "We're staying here."

Zallia looked up at the inn with a wistful interested look on her face.  
>"Lina-san, do you mind if I have a look at this injured person who so closely resembles me?" She glanced back down to meet Lina's curious and suspicious eyes. "If you don't mind..."<p>

Lina frowned slightly, glanced at Amelia who shrugged in reply, and nodded. "Sure, I suppose there's no problem with that." She turned around and led them into the inn, and entered their room. "We're back Gourry."

Gourry was snoring away on the bed, sprawled across it haphazardly, and oblivious to the world. Lina smiled quietly to herself, and then pointed at the other bed where Xelloss still lay. "There he is."

Zallia walked over to the bedside and stared down at him. Amelia stood by her side, and glanced over at Xelloss to see that his wounds were healing much faster now, and his face was once again a monotone expressionless mask, revealing nothing of what the Trickster was thinking anymore. Zallia was rubbing her chin thoughtfully, staring down at him with a slight frown on her face. Lina noticed this and walked over to her. "What's wrong?" She glanced down at Xelloss, finding nothing out of sorts, so to speak.

She shook her head and glanced back at Lina. "How was he injured this way?"

Lina shrugged and crossed her arms. "Beats me. We found him worse than this, he's managed to heal a bit since."

Zallia frowned. "He's not human." It was more of a statement than a question.

Lina glanced down at him. "Yeah, that's right. He's Mazoku."

"Aren't Mazoku powerful though?"

"Well... Yeah. Especially him, so we've been told."

Zallia looked thoughtful and didn't speak for a while, so Lina broke the ice. "Why did you want to see him?"

Zallia sighed. "It's a complicated issue..." she said trailing off.  
>"Let's just say... I'm looking for someone, and he might be the clue I need."<p>

Lina nodded slightly, not pressing it, but curious. "Sou ka..." She glanced back at the others, to see Amelia sitting on the other bed doodling on some paper. "What do you plan to do now?"

Zallia glanced at her. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, I'd like to stay and talk to him when he wakes up... If that's all right. I can pay for my lodging and food and give you some money for your trouble if you'd like." She pulled out a sack full of gold coins, and Lina's eyes positively sparkled.

"Yesyesyesyes!" Lina snatched the bag greedily.

THWAP

Amelia handed the bag back to Zallia as the woman sweatdropped. "I'm sorry... you don't have to pay us, we'd be glad to have your company!"  
>She smiled, and Zallia returned the smile gratefully.<p>

"Domo, Amelia-san." She said bowing slightly. "Your very generous."

Amelia smiled brightly. "It's the just and true thing to do!" This only made Zallia laugh, a light joyous sort of laugh.

Lina yawned. "Oi, how about catching something to eat? I'm starved."

At the mention of food, Gourry sat up instantly, his eyelids sliding open. "Huh? Food? Where?"

They all laughed, and made their way down to the inn below to eat. They seated themselves at the table, and everyone but Zallia promptly ordered triple portions of everything, while Zallia was left staring blankly at them in astonishment. Once everyone had started digging in, no word was said as they devoured their food. Zallia just watched and ate casually,  
>quite amused by their antics.<p>

Once the ravenous group had finished and was leaning back casually in their chairs, patting their full bellies, a casual conversation began as the inn began to empty for the night. "So," Lina began, "Tell us something about yourself Zallia."

She looked up from her tea, her golden eyes wide. "Pardon? Me?" She blinked uncertainly. "Uh..."

Amelia grinned at her. "Yes, where do you come from?"

She blinked, then sighed quietly and set her tea down, looking deep in thought. "Well..." She began quietly. "I was raised for the most part by some friends of my father after he dropped me off to them... So I grew up with them, and we traveled around from village to village quite a bit."

Lina grinned. "That must have been quite exciting for you. Why did they travel so much?"

Zallia shrugged indifferently. "I guess... I got to see new places and tour the countryside, but I never had the chance to really make friends and stuff, we were always moving..." She glanced up hesitantly, her eyes shadowed in the light slightly. "The reason we moved wasn't a pleasant one... We were usually driven out of the villages...the people didn't like us..."

The others grew solemn. "Why? You seem to be a very nice person." Gourry said bluntly.

She sighed. "Well... Let's just say... They didn't' like the kind of people that my foster parents were... And therefore it reflected on me too..."

The others exchanged glances of distaste. "That's horrid." Amelia said softly. "No one should have to live through that. It isn't right."

She shrugged silently and sipped her tea with her eyes closed. "It's in the past...no need to think back on it."

Lina changed the subject before things could get too uncomfortable. "You said you knew magic. What kinds do you specialize in?"

She frowned in thought. "Umm...well I guess Black magic would be my strongest specialty... Though I know some of each branch as well."

Lina nodded in excitement. "What level?"

She shrugged. "I don't know... I know the more complex spells if that's what you're asking."

Lina nodded in agreement. "I see. Were your parents..." Her words were cut off as the door to the inn burst open, revealing a figure in all white standing there.

Everyone instantly jumped to their feet and shouted in one voice.  
>"ZELGADIS!"<p>

The figure seemed to shrink, but made his way to the table and took a seat. Lina was fuming. "You IDIOT! Why did you wander off?"

Zel shrugged and pulled his mask and hood off looking nonchalant. "You know the reason."

Lina growled a low menacing sound. "That's no excuse."

Zel shrugged, and threw Zallia a suspicious glare. "Who're you?" His eyes seemed to bore into her sharply, and she cringed under his gaze.

"I...I'm Zallia..." She managed timidly.

Lina thwaped Zel on the head, and shook her hand in pain regretting the action. "Be polite Zel, she's a friend."

He stared at her with a piercing gaze, then ignored her completely.  
>"Where is he?"<p>

Lina snorted. "Up in bed you idiot. Now you'd better stop acting like a child. He's not going to harm you, and like it or not, he has helped us out a few times. We owe it to him not to let him die, and you'd better acknowledge that Zel."

He simply stood up and headed up towards the stairs. "I'll be in the room."

The others stared at him with some bafflement, and sighed among themselves. Lina stood up. "I think it's time we retired. We'll sort this all out in the morning." Everyone stood up and headed back to the room, with Zallia picking up the trailing end. They entered, and got ready for bed, then took their respective beds, with Gourry and Lina sharing, Amelia in one, and Zelgadis on the floor. Zallia looked around,  
>and seeing no spare blankets or beds, she sat herself in the corner and wrapped her cloak around herself for warmth, and laid her head on her knees with a small sigh. The candles were put out, and soon the sound of heavy breathing filled the room. But she couldn't sleep... No matter how tired she was, her eyes remained open, gleaming slightly in the darkness. She glanced around and saw everyone deep in their own slumbers. A sadness filled her heart, and a small tear trickled down her cheek and she lowered her head, sobbing quietly and silently in the darkness.<p>

Zelgadis lifted his head slightly, hearing a soft sound, and glanced over, squinting in the dark, to see Zallia hugging her legs and shaking slightly. He felt a twinge in his heart at hearing her soft sobs, and suddenly overwhelming guilt flooded him. He got up quietly, holding his blanket, and walked over to her, then dropped the blanket by her feet.  
>She looked up startled, her golden eyes glowing slightly in the darkness, gleaming with tears. She looked startled and slightly afraid of him, and he just turned around and walked to bed silently, laying back down and rolling over. She stared after him, watching his breaths rise and fall, then slowly picked up the blanket and wrapped it around herself, burying herself inside of it in a small ball. Eventually, she fell asleep, strange thoughts of confusion floating through her head.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

**The Convergence of Past and Future**

**Chapter 4: SHOCK! The Truth is Revealed!**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Mild language, violence  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

* * *

><p>There was a distant rumble of thunder that woke her up. She lifted her head to see flickers of lighting streaking through the clouds outside of the window. She pulled the blanket closer, shivering in the chilly room,<br>and stood up slowly stretching her sore limbs. She walked over to the window to stare outside, seeing the trees bent under the howl of the wind, rain pelting the window, and the dark dismal clouds rolling across the sky. She sighed lightly, then heard a rustling sound behind her, and turned around. She immediately sensed the eyes on her, and her gaze fell to the bed to her left. The man's eyes were open and watching her. She felt uneasy, nervous, yet a sense of connection, belonging, and harmony in his gaze, and slowly walked over to his bedside and pulled up a chair to sit beside him. His piercing amethyst gaze seemed to cut into her very soul, but she didn't let it bother her, she kept a calm face. "Hi..."

He glanced at her, up and down silently, seeming to take in the information laid before him before meeting her eyes again. She felt squeamish under that intense gaze and glanced aside. "How are you feeling?"

His words came soft, and were forced as it seemed to be a great effort for him to speak. "About how I look."

She glanced down, and though most of his burns were gone, stress lines creased his face, and she could see he was in pain. She wanted to help,  
>but knew better than to do so. "That bad huh?" Her tone was light and joking, but as she met his eyes, she flinched at the unasked question that lay there. She shivered slightly, then steeled herself, but he proved too fast for her.<p>

"It's been a while, hasn't it."

She slowly looked into his eyes, and saw nothing special there, no warmth, no care, no love... Just blankness. She bit her lip. "Yes..."

Silence echoed in the room, as the wind continued to howl and the rain pelted against the window. She stared at her hands folded in her lap dully, wondering and thinking of what to say. He broke the silence speaking in his low mellow voice, strained as it may be. "I didn't abandon you."

She glanced over at him sadness in her eyes. "Oh really? Doesn't seem that way to me...Father."

"It is the truth however."

More silence. It was tense and strained, mostly on her half. He had his eyes closed now, and was breathing deeply, almost as if dozing off back into slumber. She watched him for some time in silence, listing to the storm that echoed her inner emotions. They sat there for several minutes without saying another word, then she turned and asked the one question of him that had been burning on her mind since she was a small child.  
>"Why... Why will no one speak about my mother? Is she dead? Why didn't you leave me with her instead of the Mazoku?"<p>

He didn't answer immediately, no emotion or reaction passing his face to show that he'd heard her question. She was about to repeat it, when he finally opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling. "Sore wa...himitsu desu."

Her golden eyes flickered just for the briefest instant an amethyst color, then changed back. "Himitsu? Himitsu?" Her voice was bitter,  
>angry, and mocking. "So... you abandon me at the age of 5, and never show your face again. You refuse to tell me anything about my mother,<br>and then you play games with me." She stood up and crossed her arms glaring over him. "Perhaps it would have been better if I hadn't met you after all." She turned away from him and stood at the window again,  
>taking deep breaths to calm herself.<p>

He didn't answer, but closed his eyes and sighed quietly. Ten minutes passed by without either speaking, or even attempting to reconcile the differences. Tension practically crackled in the air between them, and the four pairs of ears that lay listening quietly in the darkness began to twitch nervously at the inactivity.

Finally, she turned back to him. "So now what?" He didn't answer her.  
>"Do you and I part never to meet again? Is that what you want? I don't even know who you are!" Her voice had a pitch of hysteria in it. "They wouldn't tell me anything about you!" She gestured at the others around the room. "And you don't seem inclined to tell me anything else!" She sighed, lowering her hysterical voice a bit. "Will you at least tell me your name Father?" Her voice seemed defeated, sad, and forlorn. When he didn't answer, she walked back to the window, biting her lip and hugging her arms to herself. "Figures... Should have guessed it..." She mumbled to herself, feeling tears well up inside of herself. "Mazoku care about no one but themselves." She leaned against the wall staring out through the glass dully.<p>

"...Xelloss...Metallium..." His voice broke the silence of the room suddenly, making her head turn around to look at him. His amethyst eyes returned her gaze evenly, and she was shocked to see a very small hint of feeling there...

"..." She watched him with appraising eyes, trying to figure out what he was doing... he seemed sincere... almost like he cared... She didn't move, but lowered her eyes. "I see... thank you...Father." She said quietly, then turned around and walked out of the room silently closing the door after her.

Xelloss watched her go with slitted eyes, and a thoughtful glance on his face, then he leaned back and closed his eyes, letting himself relax and drift off again in rest, when suddenly hands were shaking him harshly,  
>and a very enraged voice was screaming in his ear. "YOU LITTLE! HOW CAN YOU BE SO COLD TO YOUR OWN DAUGHTER?" He opened his eyes wide to see Lina glaring down at him, with Amelia and Zelgadis standing with somber expressions beside the bed as well.<p>

"You made her unhappy!" Amelia exclaimed. "How can you do that?"

He simply raised an eyebrow and smirked. This seemed to enrage Lina further, and she slapped him hard across the face. "I don't care if you're injured, but you've no excuse, Mazoku or not, to treat her like that. She's spent most of her life in trying to find you, and you shove her away with thorns!" Lina's voice was a low dangerous hiss. "I was about to think that you had a shred of humanity in you Xelloss!"

Amelia glared down at him. "Who is her mother? Why won't you tell her?"

"Because.." He said in a calm quiet voice. "Her mother doesn't even know about her."

They all blinked blankly for a minute, then frowned. "Huh?" Lina said bluntly. "What do you mean? Isn't that a bit... impossible?"

Xelloss closed his eyes with a sigh. "No... Mazoku can be formed differently than others can. I took her from the moment of her creation,  
>and matured her myself."<p>

They didn't have much to say to that... Gourry stated bluntly what was on their minds. "Huh?"

He sighed. "What I mean is, upon her conception, I removed her from the mother and raised her elsewhere."

Lina blinked. "You can do that?" He nodded wordlessly. "But... Why?"  
>She asked confused.<p>

"Because... Not only would her birth cause devastating reactions if made known to the mother, it contradicted the plans my mistress had laid out."

Lina frowned, then blinked with some amazement as she realized for once Xelloss was stating things plain, simple, and outright instead of using riddles or 'sore wa himitsu'-ing everything. She frowned in thought,  
>wondering why this was the case.<p>

Meanwhile, Xelloss had closed his eyes, and before they could ask him further questions, he'd drifted back to sleep. Zelgadis had in the meantime quietly exited, and was looking around the inn for Zallia. He finally went outside into the storm, rain pounding down on him, and glanced about. Sure enough, he saw a small shape huddled underneath an overhang up by the roof. He sighed quietly, and cast a levitation spell,  
>then flew up to stand on the rafter beside her huddled form.<p>

She was sitting, her arms wrapped around her legs, her head buried in her knees. He knelt down in a crouch beside her, not saying anything,  
>thinking over what he might say to her. She didn't make a move or speak,<br>nor did she acknowledge his presence. He frowned slightly, then put a rocky hand on her shoulder gently. To his immediate surprise, she leaned into him, and rested against his shoulder, her slender body shivering with the cold and with her tears. He didn't move, but then gently he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, holding her to him, letting her cry her sorrows out.

Time seemed to pass slowly for him, but as he stared out across at the pouring rain, it began to let up slightly. The water finally stopped,  
>though the sky was still dismal and clouds rumbled by, the occasional lighting flashing and thunder rumbling. He glanced down to see that she'd finally stopped her sobbing with the end of the rain. "Are you OK?" He asked quietly, concern in his voice.<p>

She didn't answer, but she did nod, her tear streaked face lifting, her golden eyes puffed and red. He gave her a gentle squeeze, and she sighed. "Thank you Zelgadis..." She whispered.

He nodded. "Anytime."

She sighed and wiped the tears from her face, but still didn't look up at him. "Don't you hate me because I'm related to him?"

Zel shook his head. "I hate him. You aren't to blame for his deeds."

That seemed to relax her a bit, and she loosened up slightly. "I wonder... what is my purpose in life... I was his toy... is that all?"

Zel scowled. "Well, he's a Mazoku. They don't have feelings. I wouldn't get too attached to him, after all, he doesn't seem to care about you very much." He glanced down at her. "But who needs him anyway? You've got friends."

She raised her golden eyes to his then, confusion and bewilderment in them. "Friends..." A small smile graced her lips. "Yes... I suppose so..."


	5. Chapter 5

**The Convergence of Past and Future**

**Chapter 5: MAZOKU! The Demon Emerges!**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Mild language, violence  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

* * *

><p>The group was seated at the table eating downstairs when Zel and Zallia entered. They all looked up solemnly, and the two joined them without a word, and ordered their food. Zallia kept her eyes downcast, and Zel looked thoughtful. Finally, Lina couldn't stand it much longer. "Hey,<br>you gonna be ok Zallia?"

She glanced up halfheartedly, and nodded. "Yes..."

They looked less than convinced, but let it slide. "So... What are you going to do now Zallia?" Lina asked with her mouth half full, which was an amazing thing for her, usually it was all the way full.

Zallia shrugged lightly, glancing up at them with quiet eyes. "I don't know yet..."

Amelia stood up with her finger pointed in the air in her 'pose of justice' stance. "Right! You can stay with us then!"

Everyone sweatdropped, but didn't object. "Ano..." Zallia murmured.  
>"Thank you..."<p>

Lina smiled. "Yosha! Then it's settled. I figure we'll wait till Xelloss is better, and can tell us what happened, then we'll head on towards Saiirag to see Sylphiel." She took another mouthful of meat.  
>"Mrgh mfffh rgnmm nmmmr."<p>

Zallia smiled in spite of herself and felt a whole lot better suddenly.  
>Zelgadis was right. She had friends.<p>

After the meal, since the air had cleared up and the storm had calmed,  
>the girls went outside for some shopping together, while the boys remained back at the inn. They walked outside enjoying the crisp fresh air, and letting the bustle of the merchants revitalize their spirits.<br>Zallia began to relax and see what Zelgadis had told her. Life had more meaning when you had people who watched your back, if you watched theirs. They wandered about, browsing in the stalls, and chatting about idle things. Zallia kept mostly to herself, but listened with interest to the others. They came to the edge of the town, and began to turn back, when each of them received a cold shiver down their backs, and several large thugs began to surround them from the shadows. Lina and Amelia backed up a step, and Zallia looked on with a frightened look in her golden eyes. Lina smirked as the men advanced. "Hm... looks like some fellas are in for some unpleasant reactions, ne Amelia?"

Amelia nodded. "That's right Miss Lina.. criminals asking for trouble stand no chance against the fist of justice!"

Zallia sweatdropped slightly, but watched the surrounding men warily.  
>They were completely surrounded, and the men seemed to be enjoying this,<br>glowering with smirks on their faces. "Well well well, aren't we scary little things?" One taunted.

"Mmm they look good enough to eat. This will make my day for sure."

Lina lowered her voice so that only the other two could hear. "Amelia,  
>you have to take them this time..."<p>

Amelia blinked with wide eyes. "Why me Miss Lina!"

"Because," Lina hissed with narrow eyes. "It's... you know, that time for me."

Amelia's face seemed to drain pale white. "Oh no... me too Miss Lina!"

They stared at each other, with a look of 'oh crap' on their faces.  
>Zallia blinked and shook her head with some bemusement. "That time?" She asked curiously.<p>

They both glanced at her. "Hmm that's right, you might not know about that being Mazoku..." Lina mused.

"Half." Zallia corrected quietly. "No, I never had to worry about...  
>that." She finished, having deduced what was happening. "So I suppose it's up to me then.." she sighed. "I hate fighting..."<p>

They all straightened up and glared challengingly at the thugs. "Well!"  
>Lina said in a firm loud voice. "If I were you, I'd reconsider your actions. You aren't dealing with ordinary street wenches."<p>

All the men burst out laughing loudly at that. "Oh reaaaaally?" One mused with a wide grin. "I'm so frightened...perhaps you're..." he did a falsetto gasp, "...sorceresses?" All the men laughed harder at that."

As they spoke, the men began slowly moving in on the three. They stood back to back, and Lina glanced at Zallia. "Well? What now?"

Zallia slowly reached a hand around behind her back to her belt area beneath her cape. "Just leave it to me. And when I move, duck."

They glanced at her curiously, but didn't answer. Instead, as the men leapt forward and snatched Lina and Amelia's arms, they struggled and tried to twist free, but no avail seeing that they had no strength compared to the stronger men, and no magic to work with. Amelia forgot herself and screamed in terror as one grabbed her by the bust.

One man had snatched Zallia's left arm, and Lina threw a worried glance at her, only to have her eyes widen in shock and her muscles tense.  
>Quicker than a flash of light, a silver streak flashed across the man's neck, and he screamed in pain clutching his neck, and fell to the ground trying to quench the wound. Faster than a streak, each man, one by one,<br>was struck and they all cried out, unable to draw weapons due to the speed of their assailant, and Lina and Amelia found themselves freed before they knew it, their own captors lying in the mud still and unmoving, along with the rest of the men... Crouched in the center of the ring of bodies, all of which were dead, was Zallia... but she was radically different... Her skin was a deep bronze color, and her ears were sharply pointed out of her hair... Sharp claws adorned her fingers, and fangs glinted brightly in the dull light as glittering amethyst eyes glanced birdlike around at the carnage. In her right hand,  
>she clutched a crooked silver knife, dripping with fresh blood.<p>

Amelia and Lina stood there in shock, not sure what to say or what to do. After several seconds of silence, Zallia's eyes flickered to them,  
>and they gazed silently at each other appraisingly. Lina could feel the dagger-like gaze of Zallia's piercing into her soul... cold,<br>emotionless, and deadly... Just like a Mazoku... Lina suddenly felt her heart skip in her chest... would Zallia recognize it was them? Would she attack them? Amelia stood beside her, her eyes wide in fear and shock.

Then, Zallia straightened up and the dagger slid back into it's hidden sheath strapped to her belt on her back. She turned to them and brushed her hands off on her pants. "That was too easy." Her voice wasn't the soft gentle one they were used to, but was cold, cunning, and sly. She strode towards them, a sadistic smirk on her face. "Now if it had been twenty, that's an even match."

Lina stared up at their friend. "Zallia, what happened to you?"

Zallia looked down at them with an amused glance. "Happened? What do you mean?" Her eyes were sharp and cutting like daggers.

Lina swallowed. "You know what I mean Zallia Metallium." She said in a low voice.

Zallia chuckled coldly. "Ah, I can't fool you Lina Inverse.." She smiled, her fangs glittering. "This is my Mazoku form. I use it for fighting and whatnot."

Lina exchanged glances with Amelia, and saw her own fears and questions reflected in Amelia's eyes as well. She glanced back at Zallia. "I see... well, I guess we won't have to worry about being attacked with you around."

Zallia laughed, and it was a spine tingling evil laugh that sent shivers running down their backs and up and down their spine. "Of course not,  
>it's what I live for." And with that note she strode back down the street. "It will start raining again. Might as well get back before we get an unwanted shower." And with that she vanished into nothingness,<br>teleporting away as a typical Mazoku would do.

Lina and Amelia let out their breaths in one big sigh. "L-sama have mercy." Amelia murmured. "What happened to her?"

Lina sighed rubbing the beads of sweat off of her forehead. "I'm guessing it's her other half personality... she's half Mazoku,  
>half..." she paused..." something else..." she had been about to say human, but then she realized that she wasn't entirely sure that was the case. No word from Xelloss on what race the mother had been, for all they knew it could be something from another world. "Apparently she can shift back and forth from a demon to her normal self." She sighed. "I guess it's useful... But deadly."<p>

Amelia shivered. "You can say that again." She whispered, thinking back on the men. "They didn't deserve to die... even if they were criminals...they didn't deserve it..." Her whimpering broke off into quiet tears as she clutched Lina's arm as they headed back.

It was a quiet somber walk as they traveled back down the street, and once they reached the inn, they entered and went up to the room, only to find her not there. Lina was beginning to get severely worried now. She walked to Xelloss' bedside, and shook the Mazoku. "Oi, get up you." She said firmly.

Luckily, she was rewarded by an amethyst eye sliding open. "Hmm?"

"What's the deal with your kid? She changed into a Mazoku."

Xelloss blinked. "What?" Lina scowled and told him what happened, and Xelloss nodded slowly as she finished. "Sou ka..." He mused. "Not at all unpredictable. I'd suspected something of the sort."

"So what is it?"

He looked up with amused eyes. "Surely you can figure it out Lina-san?"

Lina had had just about enough. She snatched the Mazoku by his shirt and lifted him up like he weighed nothing. "Now you listen here. I'll have none of your games Xelloss!" She hissed. "Tell us the truth, and none of this secret crap."

He blinked in disorientation of being suddenly elevated in such a manner. "Ah.. I get your drift." He managed, and with that Lina set him back down. He leaned back against the pillow exhausted and sighed.  
>"She's half Mazoku, which means she has Mazoku strengths and powers.<br>Since her dominant side seems to be more passive, therefore her recessive side is the Mazoku portion." He shrugged. "It's more powerful and aggressive. She'll change personalities even. She'll essentially BECOME a full Mazoku during those times."

Lina frowned. "So when will she change back?"

He shrugged. "Even I don't know that." He looked her straight in the eyes when she began to move forward to him threateningly. "She's unique Lina-san. Nothing like her has been seen before on this earth." His voice was serious and formal, and Lina stopped her forward motion to strangle him.

"Xelloss, what's her other half? If she's half Mazoku, what's her other side? Human?"

He merely smiled. "Sore wa himitsu desu."


	6. Chapter 6

**The Convergence of Past and Future**

**Chapter 6: WEIRD! Xelloss Evades Questions**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Mild language, violence  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

* * *

><p>Lina looked like she was about to explode... Her face turned bright red and her eyes narrowed and became slitted glittering rubies of fire.<br>"Xelloss..." Her voice hissed, soft and dangerous, making the Mazoku Priest open his eyes in surprise and slight anxiety. "I would seriously think about what might happen to you if you play with me." She gripped his wrist and held it tightly to emphasize her point. "You may like pain, but if I kill you, you won't like it I'll wager."

Xelloss' eyes were wide open in surprise at Lina's show of ferocity. He seemed for the first time in his life, to be speechless. He gazed back at her, his amethyst eyes searching her face for any signs. Finally, he sighed and his eyes slit back to their smiling ones. "Wakatta, wakatta Lina-san." He chuckled lightly.

She released him and leaned back. "So. You'll answer my questions now?"

"To an extent. I'll do what I can." He said, opening his eyes again.  
>"But there are certain things that even I can't disclose."<p>

She nodded slightly, then sighed. "Ok, first off... Why were you so beat up and nearly dead? What happened there?"

He closed his eyes as if thinking for a while, not answering her immediately. Then when she was about to poke him, he turned back to her.  
>"Let's just say I fought one stronger than I and leave it at that."<p>

She frowned. "How about we don't leave it at that." She crossed her arms scowling. "Details here, I need details."

He shook his head. "I'm afraid that's impossible at the moment." Lina raised a fist and rolled up a sleeve, but he raised his hand to stop her. "Lina-san. I am being truthful. I will tell you later when I am allowed to."

She sighed and let her fist back down. "Right... Ok, so you won?"

"Luckily."

"How did you manage that?"

"Sore wa himitsu desu."

"BS."

"Yare yare Lina-san." He said smiling lightly. "I told you I'd tell you what I could."

She sighed a frustrated sigh. "And I ain't learning much."

"You just have to ask the right questions."

"Right..." She scratched her head in thought. "Ok... so, what's the deal with your daughter?"

"In what manner?"

Lina sighed. He was so frustrating to talk to. He skirted issues, didn't answer directly, and riddled with her, even in his weakened state. "Ok,  
>what I mean is how did she... Come about?"<p>

Xelloss opened an amused eye at her. "Honestly Lina-san, I didn't think you were THAT innocent."

Her face turned beet red and she gritted her teeth trying to quelch the urge to fireball the bastard. She took one look at his face, and immediately cooled down. "Feel better now?"

"Much, thank you."

She sighed. "So?"

He shook his head. "Let's just say it was a challenge."

Lina fumed. "Is that all she is to you? A challenge? Don't you care for her? She's your daughter for crying out loud."

He looked her straight in the eyes. "I never said that I don't care for her. I do. I raised her myself not knowing the full responsibilities of a child, which is why I turned her over to acquaintances of mine to raise so that she could have a 'normal' life so to speak."

Lina stared at him in shock. He sounded sincere... Not that he loved her, but that he did at least care for her welfare. Considering Mazoku had no feelings of love and affection, that was a big step for him.  
>"So... I see..." She mused nodding in understanding. "What about the mother? Why not leave her with her?"<p>

"As I said before, her mother doesn't know about her. It was a..." he threw a stolen glance at Lina, "...secret operation. If the mother were to find out..." He looked thoughtful. "I'd be in worse trouble than if I'd called your breasts small."

Lina blinked, blinked again, and clutched her hand in a fist, her eyes closed and her eyebrow twitching. "I'd...say that's... fairly bad."  
>She managed through clenched teeth, determined not to let the Mazoku get a rise from her anger. "But I thought you enjoyed things like that."<p>

"Once and awhile yes."

Lina stared at him, her eyes still flickering flames as a result of his 'statement'. "What?"

"What I mean is..." He sighed and sat up slowly looking a bit better since he'd been regaining more energy from her anger. "...There are certain things that even Mazoku don't want done to them."

Lina frowned trying to picture what that might be in her mind, then decided that image was better off left untouched. "Ok. So moving on..."  
>She decided it was best to move away from the choice topic, being that it was uncomfortable for both of them. "Her Mazoku form... she can shift back and forth when she likes?"<p>

"It would appear so." He looked up at her. "You most likely know more than I. She'd barely begun showing any powers or talents while I cared for her, so I have yet to learn her mature abilities."

"I see..." Lina mused. "But her other side is unpredictable when it does manifest. She murdered a whole band of thugs in town today."

Xelloss sighed with a proud smile on his face. "My little baby's all grown up..."

Lina made a disgusted face. "Right... But for me and Amelia, it was gruesome."

"No doubt, that is why we're called the EVIL race Lina-san."

She sighed in frustration. "Yeah yeah." Then she recalled something.  
>"She used a knife..."<p>

At that he frowned. "A knife? Now that is odd..." He looked thoughtful. "Normally we don't resort to mundane weapons.

"I know, that's why I mentioned it." She frowned. "Come to think of it,  
>they did die too quickly though."<p>

"Poisoned no doubt." He answered with a nod. "It would be a tactic preferable."

Lina contemplated that. A poisoned dagger that killed it's victims with one scratch before they could react. Come to think of it, that was rather effective and impressive. Deadly however if one should slip and cut oneself... But being a Mazoku, she might not have that trouble.  
>"She would have inherited some of your powers, right?"<p>

"Who knows."

She scowled. "No games Xelloss."

"It's the truth Lina-san. No one knows what sort of powers she would have. She may have inherited some, she may just have complete unique ones."

"Hmm..."

She was interrupted at that moment by the door opening, and Zel and Gourry entering the room with Amelia. They'd been downstairs having a drink and talking, and they wandered over to the bedside to join Lina and Xelloss. "How's it going?" Zel asked quietly. "No word from her yet?"

"Look's like you're a bit better Mr. Xelloss." Amelia piped up.

Xelloss smiled lightly. "Yes, thanks to Lina's temper, I'm much better."  
>This only made Lina scowl more. "And no, she hasn't come back yet."<p>

Lina sighed and stood up stretching. "Maybe we should go and search for her..."

Xelloss stretched and winced a bit at the effort, having misjudged his condition. "No need, she's coming now." At that moment, the door opened,  
>and a rather bedraggled rain-soaked Zallia stood there in the doorway looking like a half drowned rat.<p>

Everyone stared for a brief moment, and the only words were from Xelloss. "My my, taking a shower in your clothes dear?"

She glanced over at him dully, and scowled. "Shut up." And with that she walked inside and peeled off her sopping wet cloak and wrung it out.

Lina blinked, then walked over to her. "Are you Ok? What happened?"

She sighed and turned around to see everyone's worried eyes on her. "I snapped out of it over a lake is what happened." She growled. "I panicked and fell in."

Everyone exchanged glances, and Amelia stepped forward handing her a warm blanket. "Here Miss Zallia." She said kindly. "Don't catch a cold."

She took it with a grateful smile. "Thanks."

Lina crossed her arms and glanced at the others, then back to her.  
>"So... Are you gonna be Ok? What happened back in the street there?"<br>She asked cautiously.

Zallia sighed as she rumpled her hair dry. "Well... when I use my Mazoku half, I sort of lose control of it... I remember what happened, and everything, but it's like I can't really control the demon I become..." She sighed. "It usually ends once I calm down."

Xelloss chuckled. "I need to teach you how to control it, daughter dear."

She threw a glare at him. "Don't call me that."

He pouted. "Why not? Don't you love your Daddy?"

"No." She said flatly. "I don't even know you." She vanished suddenly in place, then reappeared almost instantly dressed in dry clothes, her hair and everything dried up well. "There. Much better." She said handing the towel back to Amelia.

They blinked, exchanging glances, then shrugged among themselves.  
>"Well... He may be right though Zallia." Lina said gently. "Has anyone ever trained you in how to use your abilities?"<p>

She sighed. "My foster parents did some... But not a whole lot." She glanced over at her father with a dark look. "But you're probably right... I hate losing control like that."

Xelloss in the meantime had gotten out of bed and was standing holding onto the wall for support. "It would be best. You have no idea what could happen if you lose control." He smiled darkly, his eyes opening and glittering at her.

She flinched and snapped a glare back at him. "I have a fair idea." She growled then crossed her arms. "So fine, I'll concede this one time."

The others glanced among themselves, and gathered their things. "Well,  
>we're heading off downstairs for a bit, then we're continuing on to Saiirag." Lina said. "We're going to see how Sylphiel is doing and how the reconstruction of the city is."<p>

Xelloss nodded. "We'll be about an hour or so, then join you."

She scowled, and Zel threw Xelloss a dark look. "Who invited you." He hissed.

Xelloss merely smiled and waggled a finger. "Now now, don't be that way Zel-kun!"

Lina just put a cautionary hand on his shoulder and ushered him out of the room. "I wanna keep an eye on him. And he still has to answer questions."

Zel scowled angrily. "I'm not traveling with him."

"Fine, leave then."

Zel nodded. "I will..." He threw a violent glare back at Xelloss,  
>promising dark and painful things to the cursed Mazoku.<p>

Xelloss merely wagged a hand bye bye and grinned, accepting that glare with relish as the others left. Once the door closed, his entire demeanor changed. He grew much more serious, his eyes slitting to violet glimmering gems, and his whole body sagged slightly. He slid down to seat himself on the floor leaning against the wall. "God I hate trying to hold up that farce." He sighed quietly and rubbed his temples.

She rolled her eyes and seated herself next to him. "Yeah yeah, you really shouldn't pretend to be so well when you're not you know." She just watched him calmly. "So... What are you going to teach me today Daddy?"

He smirked quietly, laughing aloud. "How long are YOU going to keep up your farce?"

She shrugged. "As long as I want."

He snorted and winked at her. "Daddy's girl you are." They both laughed,  
>an eerie laughter that echoed across the walls. "So. Do you want to learn one of the most powerful attack spells I know?"<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

**The Convergence of Past and Future**

**Chapter 7: DRAGON! The Arrival of Filia**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Mild language, violence  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

* * *

><p>An hour later, after the Slayers group had finished their luxurious ten course meal, footsteps were heard, and they glanced over to see Xelloss leaning heavily on his staff, which had been hastily wrapped together at the break to prevent it from falling apart again, and Zallia following with an aloof look on her face. "Hello minna-san!" The Mazoku chirped happily, flopping down in a seat. "Oh, I never did extend my thanks to you for...rescuing me."<p>

Everyone's gaze immediately focused on the Mazoku with disbelief. "Thank us?" Lina said slowly as if she hadn't heard right. "You're...  
>thanking us...?"<p>

"Good god... The world is gonna end." Zelgadis mumbled.

Xelloss looked slightly baffled. "And what's wrong with that? If you hadn't have found me, I would have died."

They still stared at him. "I just never expected you to actually thank us for anything Xelloss." Lina said scratching her head. "It's not you."

He shrugged. "Lina-san, you know nothing about me."

That made her twitch suddenly, her mind flying back to the flashback of his youth. /Yes I do... / she thought quietly to herself, standing up suddenly. "So, let's get moving then."

The group gathered their things, and exited the inn. Lina and Gourry struck off in the lead, with Zel by himself, Amelia next to Zallia, and finally Xelloss bringing up the rear slowly. They struck a brisk pace,  
>and the Mazoku had trouble keeping up, but didn't say anything aloud.<p>

They walked on continuously, traveling towards their destination, new Saiirag. Gourry and Lina were wrapped up in their own activities, Zel was deep in thought, and Xelloss off quite far behind the road following them at his own pace. That left Amelia with Zallia to make conversation.  
>"So.." She piped up. "What did you learn?"<p>

Zallia smiled gently down at the young girl. "Well, he did show me how to gain control of my inner demon, but I'll have to practice it for a while before I'm comfortable with it."

Amelia looked impressed. "Great! So you might be able to control it?"

She nodded wordlessly, throwing a glance back at the Mazoku behind them.  
>"Maybe we should wait for him... I'm worried that he's off by himself..." She trailed off thoughtfully.<p>

Amelia glanced back as well. "I'm sure he can take care of himself."

"I'm not sure about that. He's not as strong as he seems." She sighed shaking her head. "He took a bad beating, and he's not going to recover for several weeks yet. The fact that he's trying this much astounds me."

Amelia looked up at her curiously. "I thought you didn't like him?"

She shrugged. "He is my father... However I might not want it, it's the truth. And he's not really that bad of a person once you get to know him."

Amelia was looking puzzled. "But he's evil!"

"Well, so am I." She pointed out. "Granted, I'm half of him, but I still have Mazoku in me."

Amelia looked ashamed. "But you're different..."

Zallia looked amused, her golden eyes lifting and her expression mirroring Xelloss' almost exactly. "How so? Because I'm only half Mazoku? Does that make me any less evil?" She shook her head. "He's Mazoku, and doesn't hide his personality. I am half and I do..." She looked thoughtful. "It's rather confusing if you think about it."

Amelia frowned as if thinking about it, and shook her head. "I guess it's hard..."

The group had reached the crest of a hill, and up ahead they saw Lina and Gourry flopping down on the grass for a break. Zallia and Amelia joined them, and Zel walked over to the edge of the cliff, looking out across it with a thoughtful expression. Zallia slung herself up onto the top branch of a tree hanging way out over the edge of the cliff, and though she didn't see it, Zel threw her a worried glance.

After several long minutes, the slow figure of Xelloss joined them and plopped down against the tree trunk, closing his eyes and seeming to drift off to somewhere. Lina stared at him as the others snoozed off,  
>and then decided to pose her question. She stood up and sat down next to him, trying to see through the outer calm expression. "Ne... can I ask you a question?"<p>

He didn't seem to answer for some time, then he tilted his head slightly towards her. "Depends."

She rolled her eyes, but sighed and stared at her hands, then back up at him. "You...were human once, weren't you?" It was more of a statement than a question.

His right eye slid open and peered at her questioningly. She flinched under that intense gaze. After a moment, he spoke in a soft voice.  
>"Yes... why do you ask."<p>

She didn't quite know how to pose the answer. She thought about it, then spoke in a low voice so that her words could only be heard by him. "When we found you... After we brought you in, you were tossing and turning,  
>as if dreaming..." She glanced away feeling shame creep up on her for invading his privacy. "So I was curious and took a look." His eyebrow twitched slightly, but he made no other response. After some minutes of silence, Lina glanced up at him again. "You seemed like a very nice person... back then... What happened to you?" She knew she was overstepping her boundaries, but she wasn't really worried of what the weakened Mazoku would do at this point.<p>

His gaze was so piercing that it hurt just to be sitting where he could see her. But after some time, he shut his eyes. "Sou da naaa..." He murmured. "How interesting." She blinked up at him, slightly surprised by his behavior. "So.." He continued, "What is your point Lina-san?"

She bit her lip. "I saw what happened... When the monsters attacked your village..." When he didn't make a response, she continued. "And your girlfriend..." She was cut off abruptly.

"Would you get to the point please?" His voice was cold and sharp, and she felt tingles of fear run down her back.

Lina scowled. "I'm just curious!" She snapped, her anger finally bubbling up. "It showed that somewhere inside of you was a real person at one point!" She was grateful that Xelloss was weakened, or else she wouldn't have said such things to him. "I just want to know where he went A'nu!"

She felt icy cold fingers around her throat suddenly, and she caught her breath as she looked into his deep amethyst eyes which were narrowed very dangerously at her. "Do NOT say that name in my presence again or I will kill you!" He hissed, his voice much like a viper's. "Is that understood?"

Lina managed to nod slightly, her eyes wide, and he released her. She reached up and touch where his fingers had bit into her. He was strong... and she could tell that she would have some bruises from that. She glared at him angrily, noticed his eyes were closed and he seemed to be resting, and decided to give it a rest. She stood up and lay down again in the grass beside Gourry, thinking about the events. He was a Mazoku, she kept reminding herself. Never trust him.

Zallia was lounging on the tree branch, dangling her arm down fiddling with some leaves on a branch below. She yawned, and rolled over and sat up, watching the others. Amelia was just sitting up, and she stood and stretched, then walked over rather unsteadily, and looking still asleep,  
>closer to the cliff. Zelgadis turned his head to watch her. "Careful of the ledge." He warned.<p>

She just yawned and stopped at the edge and looked down. "Ne... isn't that Saiirag down there?"

Zel nodded. "Yes."

She smiled. "It looks good! They've sure done well on the reconstruction!" She turned around and waved at Lina. "Miss Lina! Come look!"

At that exact moment, the edge of the cliff she stood on gave way and everything seemed to happen in slow motion. First, Amelia blinked in surprise not finding anything below her feet, second Zel jumped up reaching for her hand, third Lina dashed to the edge preparing to dive after her, and fourth Zallia stood up on the tree branch. Then, quick as a flash, Amelia was falling and Lina screamed. "Amelia!" She jumped off the edge of the cliff and shouted "Levitation!", but much to everyone's horror, nothing happened. Zel cursed and cast his own.  
>"Levitation!" on them. However, they didn't stop in their descent.<p>

"Shit! They're out of reach!" Zel screamed watching with helpless eyes as Lina struggled to try and cast a spell. But since she and Amelia were in their helpless phase, nothing could be done... that is until a dark streak threw itself rocketing down towards them with lightning sped.

Lina felt a calm sort of peace knowing that she would die today, and forced herself to glance up to give her friends one last glance. That's when she saw it... from both sides, something was approaching them at fast speeds. The left one was a streak of gold, while the right was a streak of black... Then she felt a sudden jerk as something grabbed onto her cape tightly, and she stopped her fall, and she was gliding gently over the valley. Before she could get her bearings, she was back on land standing on shaking legs, Gourry wrapped tightly around her sobbing and squeezing her so tight she couldn't breathe.

Amelia knelt slightly dazed at her near death encounter, then turned her gaze to her rescuer... It was Zallia in her Mazoku form, but large jet black wings shot out of her back like a dragon's. She was watching her with a worried look. "Are you Ok Amelia?" She asked softly, worry reflected in her amethyst eyes. Amelia nodded slightly dazed and stood up with her help. "Don't scare us like that again." Zallia scolded gently.

In the meantime, Zel was approaching another figure, a large one at that...

Lina glanced over. "A dragon..." She murmured in awe staring up at the huge golden form before them. She slowly separated from Gourry and walked over to stand beside Zel to look up at the gold dragon. "Thank you." She said with gratitude in her voice. "We owe you our lives."

Amelia came up besides Lina and stared up at the dragon. "Yes...  
>thank you for saving Miss Lina." She glanced at Zallia who was staring up at the dragon as well. "And thank you Miss Zallia for saving me."<p>

Zallia threw a glance at Amelia, and smiled at her, her fangs glinting in the light, her purple eyes flashing. "Be more careful next time."

The dragon seemed to bow it's head, then it glowed brightly before them,  
>and began to shrink. They stared in astonishment, and watched with their mouths agape as the dragon shifted slowly from a glowing bright light,<br>to a young woman who had long blonde hair. She slowly opened her eyes,  
>and their blue depths looked back out at them. "I am Filia." She said with a gentle smile.<p>

Lina shook her hand rapidly. "Hajimemashite!" She pumped up and down,  
>and Filia seemed to look nauseous and a bit overwhelmed. "I can't thank you again how much this means to us for saving our lives."<p>

"Ano..." She sweatdropped but smiled slightly. "It's quite ok..."

Lina sighed. "Though I never expected to meet a gold dragon." She peered at her. "I didn't know they could take human form actually..."

She seemed amused by that. "We can... Just as the..." She spat the word out, "Mazoku can."

Zallia was staring at her with an intense gaze of piercing intensity,  
>and Filia noticed this. She glanced at the half Mazoku. "Is something wrong?" She glanced at the girls' appearance, and hissed through clenched teeth. "Mazoku!"<p>

Zallia just frowned, and felt a hand on her shoulder. Amelia was clinging to her arm. "It's not her fault! She's only half Mazoku!"

At that, Filia's face seemed to twist into something like rage and hatred, fear and surprise, and a melding of startled shock. "Half?" Her voice shook slightly. "How..."

"Hello Filia-chan. It's been a while." Came a soft voice from behind them. They glanced back to see Xelloss leaning heavily on his staff,  
>watching Filia with smiling eyes. Their gaze went back to Filia, to see a dangerous aura of anger surrounding her. "You!" She hissed. "YOU!"<p>

"Ma ma!" he said waving a hand at her. "Is that a way to treat an old friend?"

"FRIEND?" She screamed at the top of her lungs with anger radiating off of her like waves of energy. "You... YOU...YOU..."

He smiled pleasantly at her. "No, I'm not an ewe... I'm Mazoku."

She fumed angrily and reached beneath her cloak to pull out a gigantic mace. "YOU WILL DIE!" She hissed taking a step forward.

Amelia was shoved roughly aside by Zallia as she stepped in between the two and put restraining hands on both of their shoulders. "Stop it." She glanced at Filia. "Don't pick on the weak." She said glaring, then she turned to Xelloss. "And you don't entice her."

Xelloss just smirked more. "Whatever you say daughter dear."

At that there was a loud thump heard, and all heads turned towards Filia. The mace had fallen out of her hand, and she was standing there with a very ashen face. "Daughter..." She managed to choke out. Everyone was staring at her, and she took a step backwards, and fell over her own mace, still staring at Zallia.

Zallia frowned and scratched her head lightly with her claws, then a soft glow surrounded her, and she changed back to her human form. "Would you care to explain any of this?" She asked Xelloss with a glare of murder.

"No."

She glared at him angrily and turned around and smacked him hard across the head. "I repeat my question."

Amelia was kneeling by Filia who was staring blankly ahead as if she couldn't see anything. Amelia was very concerned, and shook her shoulder lightly repeatedly saying her name.

Xelloss was rubbing his cheek and opened his eyes at her. "How nice of you daughter dear." He murmured with a smile. "And let's just say then that she and I are... Old acquaintances."

Lina glared at him. "Oh, I remember... You murdered hundreds of her kind didn't you."

He nodded slightly with a smile. "Correct. But that's not the reason."

Zallia glanced at Filia, then back to him, and then sighed. "Fine. Be that way." And with that she vanished into thin air, startling most of them.

Xelloss sighed. "Oya oya... such touchy people..." He shrugged and then promptly vanished as well, and the group was left by themselves with Filia, who was still sitting in shock.

Lina sighed and glanced at the horizon. "We might as well break camp...  
>No more traveling today." She plopped down while Gourry and Zel began to set up the tents. Eventually, everything was set, and soon some critter of some sort was roasting over the open flame. The group wolfed down their food, letting Filia be alone, as she was obviously too upset to eat. Soon, the group was snoring away, and the firelight was flickering brightly in the darkness. Filia sat against the tree, curled up in her cloak, staring at the flames absently. She almost didn't hear the footsteps approach. She looked up as a figure walked into the campsite,<br>and crouched by the fire, staring into it and warming her hands. After some time, Zallia glanced her way, her golden eyes illuminating in the darkness. She slowly stood, and walked over to sit next to Filia,  
>turning her face towards the light.<p>

Filia shivered involuntarily as she glanced at the girl, recognizing the sharp features inherited from her father. It was frightening and strange in a way, since her face seemed to illustrate the possible kindness or calm side of the Mazoku. After a while, Filia ventured to speak. "I want to apologize for how I treated you earlier..."

The girl glanced at her and smiled gently. "It's Ok, I can understand why you might be so upset at him..." She poked the fire with a stick.  
>"If someone murdered my race, I'd wanna go on a rampage too."<p>

Filia sighed. "That... that wasn't the only reason... It was actually the last thing on my mind to tell you the truth."

Zallia glanced over at her curiously. "How do you mean?"

Filia wrapped her arms around her legs. "He and I go back a ways...  
>and it's not a pleasant relationship."<p>

She nodded slowly. "I can understand that..."

Filia glanced over at her. "May I ask, you're his daughter, so who is your mother?"

Zallia shrugged. "I don't know. He never will tell me or anyone else.  
>'Sore wa himitsu desu' is all he'll ever answer."<p>

Filia growled low in her throat. "Figures..." She clenched her fist,  
>then released it. "What is your other half then?"<p>

Again, Zallia shook her head. "I don't even know that." She felt a tremble from the dragon girl beside her, and glanced over to see her weeping. "What's the matter Filia-san?" She asked tenderly putting a hand on her shoulder.

Filia didn't look up at her. "It's nothing..."

Zallia didn't look convinced, but she dropped the point. They sat in silence for some time, both lost in their own thoughts. After some time,  
>Zallia glance at Filia. "Why are you here Filia-san?"<p>

The dragon girl looked at her. "Well... it's a long story..."

Zallia shrugged and lay down on the ground in a sprawled position.  
>"Well, we've got time, ne?" Her smile shown up at Filia and the dragon stared at her, then relaxed a bit and smiled back. "Hai..." She slid down and relaxed on the ground as well, and sighed. "Where shall I begin..."<p> 


End file.
